Every month, Authentic Parenting hosts a carnival. As from November 2012 I've teamed up with Mandy from Living Peacefully With Children.
The carnival will take place every last Friday of the month, the submission deadline is the Friday before last of every month. On December, the carnival takes a break because of the holidays.
Below you find the carnival themes per month and a little explanation, maybe some inspiration. Be creative, don't confine yourself to the suggestions, but write what arises when you consider the topic.
How do you enter?
To enter, write a new post on the chosen topic and email your full text to mamapoekie {at} yahoo {dot} com and mandy {at} livingpeacefullywithchildren {dot} com, no later than 11PM GMT on the day of the deadline and fill out the form.
In this email, include:
- full text
- title
You can find the form in the call for submissions on Authentic Parenting or Living Peacefully With Children approximately 10 days before the carnival deadline. If you've participated in previous carnivals, you will get the call and form link in your mailbox. You can also find the form by visiting this page.
You will then receive an email with a bit of code for the top and bottom of your post. On carnival day, the code will be adjusted to include all the links to the participants posts.
Authentic Parenting reserves the right to accept, decline or edit submissions. Editing will only be based on spelling and grammar, never on content. I will not accept posts that are written for the sole purpose of marketing or advertising or posts that are not in line with the principles of authentic parenting. (eg posts that promote spanking or CIO)
We welcome be new material (not previously published) and kindly ask you to post before 8AM GMT.
Why participate?
Carnivals are a fun way to generate traffic to your blog and create community. You'll be linked to from many sites and get to discover blogs you didn't know before. For each edition of the carnival, we will create new commenting groups, so you'll be able to visit and receive visits from lots of different people.
Carnivals also give you a chance to think about a predetermined topic, which can smooth off an occasional writer's block.
Stay up to date
Bookmark this page to know the dates and themes of upcoming carnivals. To receive the announcements for the upcoming carnival, subscribe to Authentic Parenting's feed, or follow @mamapoekie on Twitter, follow Living Peacefully with Children on Facebook.
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Monthly Carnival themes and dates:
January: Authenticity
With all the New Year's resolutions going on, it's important to be reminded to remain true to yourself. How do you foster authenticity in your home? Now is the time to spill all about remaining true to your character, having authentic emotions and establishing authentic communication.
Submission date: January 18th
Carnival date: January 27th
February: Honesty
Little white lies don't hurt, or lying to spare someone's feelings are expressions we hear all to often. How does your family handle lies? Do you do make belief? And how far can you let this come. What about when your child lies? How is that handled in your family?
Complete honesty can be difficult to maintain in a family and is it even necessary? your input at this month's carnival!
Submission date: February 15th
Carnival date: February 22nd
March: Self Expression and Conformity
Kids like to test the margins of where they can go, wether with their behavior or their looks, but where do you draws the line. Is there behavior you don't tolerate or image alteration you would prohibit? How far do we go to conform and do we take our children along with us? Is the image we portray important, or can we just skip the boundaries all together. We would love to hear your input.
Submission date: March 22nd
Carnival date: March 29th
April: Peaceful Parenting Applied
This month, we would like to focus on practical solutions for maintaining the peace. Many parents struggle with implementing positive parenting theories in real life, so we want to hear from you about tactics, tips & tricks and solutions. Gentle parenting is not just a theory, and we want to prove that to our readers.
Submission date: April 20th
Carnival date: April 27nd
May: Self Love
We've heard it before, self love is the key to establish unconditional love with your children, to parent from a balanced place and not get triggered. To foster self love in our children, we must first love ourselves. But how does one achieve self love? How does one construct a positive body image in an age of diets and plastics and unattainable standards?
Submission date: May 24th
Carnival date: May 31n
June: Babywearing
This month, we want to know the nitty gritty about baby wearing: carrier styles, the best carriers, how-to's, positioning, baby wearing in extreme situations... Let's make this a reference list of everything you want to know about baby wearing and then a little more.
Submission date: June 21st
Carnival date: June 28th
July: Anger
We are all entitled to our emotions, but when it comes to anger and parenting, that's where it gets tricky. How do you feel your emotions when they're so violent and still remain a centered and connected parent? How do you create a safe and loving environment for your child to express this emotion.
Submission date: July 20th
Carnival date: July 27th
August: Breastfeeding
As August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, every year at this time, we use the carnival to spread awareness and knowledge about breastfeeding. So share your stories, your hardship, your happiness. Tell us all about the benefits of breastfeeding, help us spread the knowledge.
Submission date: August 23rd
Carnival date: August 30th
September: Parenting in light of your own childhood
Some of us were parented lovingly, others not so much. With this carnival, we explore how our childhood affects our parenting.
Since this is a sensitive topic, and in order to create an atmosphere of freedom, we will allow for post swaps for those who wish to remain anonymous. Therefor, we have pulled back the date for submissions a couple of days.
Submission date: September 17th
Carnival date: September 27th
October: Traditions and Legacy
As we're slowly heading up to the holiday season, we're thinking about what traditions - old or new - we pass on and what we want to leave behind. What do we want our children to remember? What do we want them to carry out into the world?
Submission date: October 18th
Carnival date: October 25th
November: Toxic relationship
Have you ever been in a relationship that was so bad it affected your whole life? As parents, we should be even more careful picking the people surrounding us, because the way we engage in a relationship guides our children in the way they see the world. Gives us your fifty cent on handling those who do not wish us well - or are so self-absorbed not to care.
Since this is a sensitive topic, and in order to create an atmosphere of freedom, we will allow for post swaps for those who wish to remain anonymous.
Submission date: June 21st
Carnival date: June 28th
In December, the carnival takes a break for the holidays, but we'll be back where we left off in January.
Past Carnivals
2012
January: Birthing and New Beginnings
February: Fostering healthy attachment
March: Discovering through Books
June: Traveling and Vacations
July: Pets and Children
